If you’ve never taken a cruise, let me tell you – it’s a city on the water. Some ships are laid out better than others, but essentially all you ever would need is available on board, twenty-four hours a day (or at least at some point during that 24 hour period). Your cabin, whether you are interior or exterior, down on deck 1 or up on the Spa deck, will find you with a cabin steward or stewardess who will have your name memorized the first time they meet you. They clean your cabin, turn down your covers at night and, in my experience, have always been awesome people.

The cabin that we have found is best for DH and myself is the Balcony. Now, so far we haven’t tried a Suite, but, we have tried an Interior cabin with no windows. No good. Bad times – okay, so there were other factors involved in it being bad, but I digress. I love the Balcony cabin. Can’t find a chair by the pool? No problem! I can go sit on my balcony. I can wake up in the morning and pull the curtains to the side and enjoy the view. I can even walk out on my balcony and get in a good stretch while enjoying the view.

Things to do? What is there NOT to do? I have sadly, perhaps, not partaken in all activities on board any of the cruises. Why? Well… because I’m there to relax and I take that very seriously. I spend a lot of time napping, sleeping and lounging (which explains why I gained a few pounds on this last cruise). If you’re the gambling sort – there is always a casino. If you’re more into dancing – the clubs are there, not to mention dance parties up on the main pool deck. There is the Spa (a favorite of mine), the work out center (skipped it), and a variety of other places to hang out.

So where do I hang out when I’m not in my cabin and the ship isn’t in port? I find that I spend a lot of time on the Promenade people watching. I have to say that while on this cruise I didn’t not venture to find a new “Speedo Man” (they exist and are hilarious), I did spot my first transvestites and a person we referred to as “Zebra Woman”. The Trannies did a great job, in as much as they could, to be female. There was a tall, black “woman” who was built like a linebacker, and a pale, red-headed slip of a “woman” with her. That’s not all! There was even the “Bubba” who was sporting his brand new overhauls to the formal night dinner (they still had the creases from the store). There is always good people watching on a cruise ship.

Okay, everyone always asks about the food, so here we go. I have had some really good food on cruises. I’ve had some really awful food on a cruise. I’ve tried a lot of new foods and I’ve failed to pay attention when scallops were in the “seafood cakes” (1st cruise). This go around, I tried frogs legs for the first time (tasty… and yeah, they really do taste like chicken). One of the best desserts I’ve had on a cruise was Basil Ice Cream with lemon sauce (1st cruise). I have never attended a “Midnight buffet”. Sorry – I can’t report on those.

Next question – the drinks. How are the drinks? Drinks are good and potent. Oh yeah – they are also expensive, so if you’re planning on drinking your day away on board, expect to have a large bill at the end of the cruise. One of my favorite memories of my first cruise was seeing a couple, stumbling drunkenly (well… compare them to pinballs or bowling with bumpers) down the corridor slurring, “What? How did our bill *hiccup* get so… High!?”

Pictures? Sorry, I was busy doing and relaxing, and my images wouldn’t come close to the pros in Carnival’s marketing team.